aid

The ICEJ is once again raising the banner for the remaining Jews in Ethiopia. With God’s help and working together we can bring them to the land of their fathers.

Ethiopia is currently experiencing the worst drought in 50 years caused by El Niño, which is quickly spreading to populous areas. The drought has brought a food crisis, which is said to be the worst in 30 years. On top of it, Ethiopia has been targeted by Islamist militants, in revenge for Ethiopia’s military intervention in 2006 in neighboring Somalia.

The ICEJ Aid director Nicole Yoder explained the difficulty of this journey for Ethiopian Jews. “I always like to emphasize the challenges they will face upon arrival because of the tremendous gaps between Ethiopia and Israel – culturally, education-wise, with high-tech etc. They face some of the greatest difficulties in adapting to life here – more so than other new immigrants.”

With these combined hardships, the government of Israel is ready to bring the remaining Jewish population from Ethiopia back to Israel. Many families have been separated for years, and now they fear for their safety.

In the past, the ICEJ sponsored flights and assisted with absorption through numerous projects, including sports and educational programs, vocational training, as well as Passover assistance. Now is the time for us to get involved again.

BE A PART OF THIS MODERN DAY MIRACLE! Send your most generous gift today and be a witness of the Ethiopian Jews returning home!

Current Appeals:

Help Ethiopian Jews Make Aliyah
In November of 2015, the Israeli government made the decision to bring home those Jews remaining in Ethiopia. Our help is needed to gradually and steadily help them move to Israel and also to adapt to their new culture once they arrive.Learn more ›

Help French Jews Make Aliyah
The Jewish Agency has asked the Christian Embassy to assist with funding for the huge influx of French Jews expected to come home to Israel due to the recent and ongoing acts of terrorism in France.Learn more ›

Help Ukrainian Jews Make Aliyah
ICEJ's Aliyah Director, Howard Flower, says they need help with extra flights, logistics and special needs for the Jews in Ukraine, many of whom are very poor. Please help us bring help to the Jews of Ukraine for a time such as this.Learn more ›

Help Kaifeng Jews Make Aliyah
The Kaifeng are Jewish/Israelite exiles from Persia who had worked their way along the ancient Silk Road, all the way to Kaifeng, China. There are still some 500 Chinese Jews left in the area, and many are now interested in making aliyah.Learn more ›

Help Bnei Menashe Jews Make Aliyah
Over 7,000 members of the tribe of Menashe are waiting in Northern India to return home to Israel. You can join us in being a part of the fulfillment of prophecy and help finance more flights for these precious people.Learn more ›

Aliyah Around the Globe
Since 1980, the ICEJ has worked to see Jews from around the world find their way home to Israel in fulfillment of biblical prophecy. Today, we are active in helping Jews make Aliyah from all over the globe and are as motivated as ever to partner with the Lord in this amazing work. You can be a part of it too!Give now ›

ICEJ Aid offers you the opportunity to partner with us in helping new immigrants as they come to Israel. God promised that He would bring back the Jewish people to the land of Israel from all over the earth and plant them in their land. Here, ICEJ Aid steps in and actively helps new immigrants get planted and rooted in Israel.

Vocational Training/Hebrew Classes for New Immigrants

The three pillars of a successful absorption are language, belonging (social network), and employment. Therefore it is important to provide vocational training that will allow these new arrivals to integrate into the job market and live independently.

The ICEJ sponsors various programs, which offer immigrants basic Hebrew lessons followed by Hebrew classes which are specialized for their particular fields. Such as helping doctors become certified in Israel, equipping young immigrant with technical training to be software engineers, and assisting young Ethiopians with a pre-academic program so they can advance in their field of study. All of these classes are followed by months of professional training focused on preparing to help individuals become employed in their field in Israel.

Mentoring for Struggling New Immigrant Families

The program is divided into three stages over the course of ayear with an additional year of follow-up. Phase one assists families with taking care of initial basic needs for survival. Phase two focuses on other challenges such as education, extra-curricular activities, and educational assistance for the children, or counselling.

The aid here is determined according to the unique needs of each family being assisted. Phase three of the project is dedicated to helping the family find employment and assisting with ongoing questions related to their integration. In the first year of the program, work with the families is quite intensive; the second year and following is mostly focused on follow-up.

Approximately one third of Israel’s some 180,000 Holocaust Survivors are impoverished, struggling with illness, or living alone. In 2009, ICEJ began a partnership with the local charity to provide a Home especially for lonely survivors. It offers attractive assisted-living facilities and a warm family environment.

The Haifa Home continues to be a significant and vital project. It is a partnership in the true sense of the word, with a warm and trusting relationship existing between the Israeli staff, residents, volunteers, and the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem.

The Home is unique in many ways. Its purpose has evolved from merely supplying accommodation for Holocaust Survivors, to providing a community in the real sense of the word. Local survivors enjoy a warm welcome at the Home for participation in various celebrations, activities and services. So the Haifa Home family is made up not only of residents, but other survivors too.

The Haifa Home has had an impact and influence beyond its walls. From the Haifa area, comes warm support in the form of volunteer help, free services and invitations for outings.

By hearing about survivors in a more personal way, many Christians worldwide have been touched by this project. In turn their love and support has deeply touched the staff and residents. ICEJ is conscious both of the privilege of supporting Holocaust Survivors, and that time is running out as survivors pass away at the rate of 13,000 each year. Our involvement and responsibility to the Home is vital.

To read the inspiring story of the founder of this home for Holocaust survivors, CLICK HERE!

YOUR HELP IS NEEDED

While we are grateful for the generosity of the ICEJ support base, and particularly the German Branch that has enabled the establishment of such an important facility, ongoing funding is urgently needed. Caring for aging survivors is a costly undertaking.

You can be involved in the following ways:

Adopt a Holocaust Survivor. The cost to house each survivor is $2250 USD per month. To find out more, visit the ADOPTION page.

Since 1996, the Nursing Homecare Program has been a significant arm of the ICEJ. Our team in Jerusalem provides basic nursing assistance and physical care to elderly and disabled Russian Jewish immigrants, while also considering their social, and emotional well-being.

The care helps uprooted Russian Jews who have chronic medical problems or disabilities to be able to stay in their homes without having to be moved to an institutional facility.

In addition to providing nursing care, the Russian speaking staff share their time and friendship and let each one know how precious they are. Jewish holidays and birthdays also provide opportunities to reach out with small gifts and flowers. For many of the families, Homecare visits are the highlight of their week.

Encouragement, friendship, shared moments of joy and sadness, the competent hands of a nurse, financial support for critical needs – these are the elements of Homecare.

We invite you to have a glimpse of the Hidden Stories of ICEJ Homecare.

There is a special way to be involved in the much needed ongoing support for the Haifa Home for Holocaust Survivors. The Home has opened its doors to Survivors. They include those who need physical ongoing care, the lonely, the destitute and even some who were found to be homeless. Residents who are in dire economic situations contribute only a little if anything at all to the expense of their accommodation. However, they receive equal care and personal attention. Therefore funding for the ongoing costs is extremely important. The Home desires that all its residents will live out their final years surrounded by love and professional support. To receive government subsidies takes time and is a long administrative process.

This is why our ongoing support is vital and “Adopting a Survivor’ is an opportunity to contribute in a meaningful way. Christians who have a desire to express their love and support to these precious people who went through the horrors of the Holocaust can, through a monthly commitment of their choosing, ensure ongoing quality care and daily therapeutic activities for the residents.

The cost to house one survivor at the Home is $2,250 USD per month.

God is bringing the Jewish people up from their lands of slavery and bringing them to their promised land of Israel. Aliyah is a dream for many Jews around the world, and yet living out that dream brings many trials that need to be overcome. An essential and efficient way to full immersion into Israeli society is through absorption centres. This is where the ICEJ steps in to help support these new Jewish immigrants.

On February 14th, ICEJ AID led a group of 30 visitors from ICEJ Germany to the Ye’elim Absorption Centre in Beersheba, where they heard powerful testimonies from new immigrants. One impactful story was that of a young Russian Jewish father, who within one year of moving from Russia to Israel with his young pregnant wife, became a father, learned English and Hebrew, was trained in IT and received an offer to work at an IT firm in Israel. He explained, “My family and I would not be where we are today without all of the help and support from this programme. What can I say? I regret nothing.”

The director of the Ye’elim Absorption Centre, Morris Cohen, shared his gratefulness to the ICEJ for continued partnership in helping thousands of new immigrants, “Thank you to the ICEJ. It’s because of your generosity that we can carry out many different programmes for the immigrants from all around the world.” The IT training for new immigrants is funded by the ICEJ, and amazingly the success rate has been 100%. We have helped train approximately 30 IT programmers every year for the past five years, and every single one of these new immigrants has a job!

God is continuing to move powerfully in bringing the Jewish people to their promised land of Israel. It is our joy and honour to be a part of what He is doing, and we invite you to join us in this beautiful work by helping these new immigrants fully integrate into their new homeland!

Throughout history, the Jews have often been exiled, or expelled from their homeland. In 70 AD, with the destruction of the second temple they were dispersed from the Straits of Gibraltar to the edges of India. Although dispersed throughout the world, the longing to return to their homeland, however, was never abandoned. It is a centuries old custom for Jews, when closing out the Passover Meal, to say “Next year in Jerusalem.”

Aliyah is a Hebrew word that means to “go up.” While originally it referred to ascending to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish Feasts, today it has come to mean the return of the Jews to the Land of Israel.

Aliyah, simply stated, is the ingathering of the exiles from the four corners of the earth — it is the immigration of Jews back to their ancestral homeland. Aliyah “is rooted in the Jewish people’s fervent hope to rebuild its national life in the country from which it was exiled nearly 2,000 years ago.”

Aliyah is Biblical

Although you may not hear the term “Aliyah” preached from the pulpit, taught in Sunday School or even listed in the concordance of your bible (no matter the version), it is biblical. It is also very much on the heart of God, and he wants you to be involved (more about that later).

The prophets spoke of Aliyah — God’s plan to bring the children of Israel home. Isaiah penned some of these promises:

“He will raise a banner for the nations and gather the exiles of Israel; He will assemble the scattered people of Judah from the four corners of the earth.” (Isaiah 11:12)

“Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth.”
(Isaiah 43:5-6)

“See. I will beckon to the Gentiles, I will lift up My banner to the peoples; they will carry your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders.”
(Isaiah 49:22)

Jeremiah suggested that an Aliyah would come that would eclipse the return of the children of Israel out of Egypt. In chapter 16:14,15 we find these words:

“However, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when men will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ but they will say ‘As surely as the Lord lives who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ For I will restore them to the land I gave their forefathers.”

And in 30:2,3 God told Jeremiah:

“Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you. The days are coming, declares the Lord, ‘when I will bring my people Israel and Judah back from captivity and restore them to the land I gave their forefathers to possess.”

Waves of Aliyah

In the Land of Israel, Jews have always maintained a presence down through the centuries. However, it was during the late 1800’s that increasing numbers of Jews, seeking refuge from anti-Semitism and inspired by Zionist ideology, returned to what was then called Palestine. These early pioneers drained swamps, reclaimed wastelands, afforested bare hillsides, founded agricultural settlements and revived the Hebrew language for everyday use.

The return of the Jewish people to Palestine, and later Israel seemed to come in waves.

The First Aliyah (1882-1903) - This Aliyah followed pogroms in Russia in 1881-1882, with most of the 35,000 immigrants coming from Eastern Europe, Imperial Russia and what was later to be the Soviet Union.

The Second Aliyah (1904-1914) — In the wake of pogroms in Czarist Russia, 40,000 young people, inspired by socialist ideals settled in Palestine.

The Third Aliyah (1919-1923) — Triggered by the October Revolution in Russia and the pogroms in Poland and Hungary, this Aliyah was a continuation of the Second Aliyah that was interrupted by WWI.

The Fourth Aliyah (1924-1929) — The Fourth Aliyah was a direct result of the anti-Jewish policies in Poland and stiff immigration quotas in America.

The Fifth Aliyah (1929-1939) — This Aliyah was a result of the Nazi accession to power in Germany (1933).

Aliyah during WWII and its aftermath (1939-1948) — Effort focused on rescuing the Jews from Nazi occupied Europe. The yishuv, Jewish partisans and Zionist youth movements, cooperated in establishing the Beriah (escape) organization, which assisted 200,000 Jews to leave Europe.

Exodus of 1947 — From 1945-1947, during this period, the number of immigrants (legal and illegal alike) was 480,000, 90% of them from Europe.

Mass immigration after 1948 — On May 14, 1948 the State of Israel was proclaimed. The Proclamation of the State of Israel stated:

“The State of Israel will be opened for Jewish immigration and the ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for all of its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace envisioned by the prophets of Israel…”

Mass immigration from the FSU - From 1989 to the end of 2010, more than 1 million Jewish people from the former Soviet Union have made their home in Israel. There are still another 1 million Jews still in the former Soviet Union (FSU) yet to come. Plus 800,000 in Germany the USA and Canada.

ICEJ has assisted more than 120,000 Jews from the FSU and other countries!

Operation Magic Carpet - In May 1949, when the Imam of Yemen agreed to let 45,000 Jews in his country leave, Israeli, British and American planes flew them “home” in Operation Magic Carpet. The Yemenite Jews, mostly children, were brought to Israel on some 380 flights.

Operations Joshua and Moses - Under a news blackout for security reasons, Operation Moses began on November 18, 1984, and ended six weeks later on January 5, 1985. In that time, almost 8,000 Jews were rescued and brought to Israel. Later that year, through Operation Joshua, another 800 Ethiopian Jews immigrated to Israel.

Operation Solomon - On Friday, May 24, 1991 and continuing non¬stop for 36 hours, a total of 34 El Al jumbo jets and Hercules C-130’s—seats removed to accommodate the maximum number of Ethiopians — began a new chapter in the struggle for Ethiopian Jewry.

Operation Solomon was a modern exodus of the grandest design, and it ended nearly as quickly as it began. Within 36 hours, 14,324 Ethiopian Jews were rescued and resettled in Israel. Many of these Jewish people were being reunited with family members with whom they had been separated since Operations Moses and Joshua.

The Aliyah Work of the ICEJ

Since the founding of the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) in 1980, there has been an understanding that one day the ICE] would be involved in helping Jews return to Israel from around the world. As such, a special account was set up for donations regarding Aliyah.

We have been assisting Jews return to Israel from all around the world since we were founded in 1980. We already had people even in the 70s helping Jews who could come out through Vienna and Hungary. That was the only way out before the fall of communism. Since then we have helped over 140,000 Jews make Aliyah to Israel.

We helped more than 3000 in 2017 and if you back over our almost 40 years of existence nearly every year we have helped about 10% of all the Jews coming back to Israel. There are other Christian ministries who do this but we do it because we believe it’s the hand of God who said, “Hear the word of the Lord, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd (Jeremiah 31:10).’’

There is an invitation in the book of Isaiah, This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I will beckon to the nations, I will lift up my banner to the peoples;
they will bring your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their hips (Isaiah 49:22)." We are invited to play a role in this positive side of this Bible prophecy, the restoration of Israel. So that’s why it’s so important for Christians to see the Jews come back to their homeland. And it’s exciting.

We have been at the airport welcoming the Bnei Menashe from North East India, Ethiopian Jews, Ukrainian Jews escaping the Civil War, Russian Jews, of course, and even French Jews on flights that we sponsored—and it never gets old. There is such an excitement starting your life over in the land that belonged to your ancestors many generations ago.

We believe that everyone who moves to Israel whether secular or religious, God honors that step of faith. And He says, "I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul (Jeremiah 32:41)."

Our Aliyah work of the ICE] has continues to expand dramatically, and we now have the following offices operating today:

This office is responsible for fishing, as well as van transportation for immigrants from the Baltic countries of Latvia and Lithuania.

Other Iniatiatives:

Recently, the ICEJ has expanded its Aliyah operations in France. Also in 2006 ICEJ resumed its Aliyah flight program and has sponsored group and individual flights from Russia, India, Ethiopia, China, Sweden, France, and Finland.

ICEJ Norway has sponsored a bold fishing initiative in Germany to locate and encourage Russian-speaking Jews to come home. ICEJ is also working through social media such as Facebook to get information to potential Olim.

How You Can Help

The prophets spoke of Aliyah, and it is happening NOW! The numbers of Jewish people returning home to Israel, and the witness of the Holy Spirit among Christian believers confirms this fact.

The Bible also speaks of those who will be involved in helping the Jews return to Israel— the Gentiles. This means you and me!

“See. I will beckon to the Gentiles, I will lift up my banner to the peoples; they will carry your sons in their arms and carry your daughters on their shoulders” (Isaiah 49:22).

We live in a unique period in history where we can have a part in God’s great plan. We can help! How?

You Can Pray:

When we ask God to bring the Jews home from the north, south, east and west we are praying according to God’s will. Please pray for all Jews to come home

Pray for God’s timing. When He moves upon the nations, pray that the Jewish people would discern the time to return home to Israel

Pray for the ”fishers”

Pray that the church would catch the vision of God’s heart for Aliyah. This may include the congregation that you attend

Pray for the Aliyah from the West, and that the church be ready for this season

Pray that God would speak to individuals, churches and businesses to finance the Aliyah

You Can Give:

Would you like to help the Jews return home to Israel by “carrying their sons in your arms, and their daughters on your shoulders?” While this may be physically impossible for you, it is entirely possible through your financial gifts. You will discover the double blessing of both praying and giving to something that is burning on God’s heart. What an honor to assist in the fulfillment of His words spoken through the prophets.

From its very beginnings in 1980, the ICEJ has embarked upon a journey of giving comfort to Israel. This journey has involved deeds of compassion impacting virtually every town, village and city in some way through benevolence ministry.

ICEJ AID, the Embassy's social assistance arm touches the lives of all people in Israel by contributing to projects across the nation in every sector of society. We fulfill our calling to comfort God’s people by meeting the needs of children, elderly, disabled, new immigrants and needy families. We are proud to be your embassy in Jerusalem, your hands and feet in the land.

Get Involved

In 2006, the ICEJ established 'Operation Hope' to initially meet the urgent needs of some of the 2,500 Sudanese refugees that crossed into Israel from Egypt fleeing the Khartoum regime's genocide and ethnic cleansing campaign in the South and the western Darfur region. Since then, we have been actively involved in providing humanitarian relief to the Christian victims of Muslim persecution, providing aid to African victims of human trafficking and sending humanitarian relief to the Syrian Christian community.

More recently, the world has been shocked beyond words by the inhuman carnage and brutality being exhibited by the Islamic State terror militia in Iraq over recent months, especially against the ancient Iraqi Christian community and other minorities.

The ISIS jihadists are carrying out public beheadings, hangings and crucifixions on a daily basis all across northwest Iraq, just like in eastern Syria. In village after village, its militiamen have swept in and executed the men, raped the women, and enslaved the children. These beastly tactics have led some world leaders, despite widespread war fatigue from the prolonged conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, to urge that the West re-engage militarily in Iraq.

Sadly, few of these global statesmen are citing the plight of the embattled Christians of the Middle East as sufficient cause for standing up to the jihadists. They are more worried about terror finding its way to Western shores, as it did in 9/11 or the London Underground bombings. The region's Christians have largely been abandoned, just as they have been for decades.

We must speak out on their behalf like never before. Please pray for our fellow Christians in the Middle East. And make your voice heard in your own countries that the slaughter and hemorrhaging of these ancient Christian communities must be stopped!

If you would like to donate to the ICEJ's relief efforts on behalf of Iraqi and Syrian Christians, please give today to our Operation Hope fund, which helps Middle East Christians facing Muslim persecution.

ICEJ Aid - comforting the nation of Israel

The Embassy's social assistance arm touches the lives of all people in Israel by contributing to projects across the nation in every sector of society. Get involved today and support our work in this land!

Adopt a Holocaust Survivor

New Immigrant Assistance

God promised that He would bring back the Jewish people to the land of Israel from all over the earth and plant them in their land. This is your opportunity to help new immigrants as they come to Israel by partnering with us as we actively step in and provide for a variety of needs.